Thursday, May 9, 2013

DISMAL DAYS

After losing three to the Padres, the Marlins are grasping for new lows. They have announced formally what we already experienced last week -- the upper bowl is closed for some games. In a small ballpark like the Marlins, that's really pathetic. As my buddy OA said: "We didn't need to build a new park for that. We already had a lot of practice doing it at Sun Life." Meanwhile revisiting the Trade that Will Live in Infamy, another buddy reminds me that the Tigers picked the Marlins' pocket again last year by picking up Anibel Sanchez and Omar Infante. Sanchez is doing great -- 3-3 with a 1.97 ERA -- and Infante is a solid .287 infielder. The Marlins got Brantly, who may some day might be a fine catcher but probably belongs in minors now; Jacob Turner (5.20 ERA at AAA and looking like another Andrew Miller) and Brian Flynn, a 23-year-old pitcher recently promoted to AAA and showing a bit of promise. Meanwhile the Marlins have promoted another AA prospect, Derek Dietrich. He's 23, shows some promise. We know that because a smart organization, Tampa Bay, drafted him in the second round of 2010. He was obtained by the Marlins as a spin-off of the Blue Jays give-away, in which Yunel Escobar was flipped to the Rays. Escobar is doing even worse than Hechavarria, so that deal at least wasn't a disaster. The Marlins are now 10-25, compared to 1962 Mets 12-21.